Exploring m-government readiness: the case of Vanuatu

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Abstract

The notion of mobile government (or m-Government) can be considered closely related to electronic government (or e-Government) as it provides an additional channel for the delivery of public services and information to citizens. It has been known to have bridged the gaps and some of the limitations of e-Government by improving service delivery in areas where e-Government delivery of services failed. This study investigates how government organisations in Vanuatu currently use mobile technologies to provide government services, and evaluates the extent to which these organisations are technologically ready to invest in the deployment of m-Government.

A number of articles have been reviewed to find out how assessment of readiness and what tools has been carried out in similar studies. An m-Readiness framework has been created based on relevant articles. Approximately 20 government employees from various government organisations have been interviewed and also asked to complete a survey. Most of these government employees are senior managers and technical staff.

Even though the study has indicated that there is a certain level of mobile and wireless technology adoption, the m-Readiness level across government organisations is still low. There are few or no m-Government applications and services within the government organisations. The study has identified that a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve a higher level of m-Government readiness. It is also believed that it will depend on the success of e-Government deployment.

The study has come up with a few suggestions on how to deal with the issues associated with the adoption of m-Government technology. An obvious suggestion is that it is crucial for the government to involve key stakeholders in the deployment of the m-Government project. Another example is to learn from relevant examples and adopting solutions that are proven to work.